A genuine 1966 Catalina 250cc has been meticulously refurbished into a replica of the Batcycle featured in the 1960’s Batman television show!
Get yo’ motor running!
Long ago, my grandmother the ER nurse made me swear never to ride a motorcycle. Given my natural lack of balance and coordination, this has never been a difficult promise to keep, but this Christmas I might have to light an extra candle at church for Granny… why? Because I desperately want to sell my car and start commuting on the Batcycle!
Imagine motoring right up to the sliding door of the supermarket to deploy your chum straight to the beer cooler on their replica Robin Go-Kart! Those old people on rascals think they’re so cool? They got nothing on this lovingly rendered piece of pure nostalgia!
Dream Machine
This beauty is soon to be listed at auction so let’s see some pics and read the pitch:
This 1966 Yamaha Batcycle Replica is a tribute to the Batman television series starring Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin. The campy live-action take on the comic book ran three seasons from 1966-68 and coincided with a Southern California custom culture explosion. Original King of Kustoms George Barris created the show’s Batmobile, and his shop foreman Richard “Korky” Korkes had a hand in the Batcycle. Korkes and Daniel Demski built the Batcycle at Kustomotive in Burbank based on a Tom Daniels design. Not coincidentally, Demski also designed the Munster Koach and Drag-U-La coffin dragster for “The Munsters,” and Korkes built both of the “kreepy kustoms” at Barris Kustom Industries.
Batman custom cars and motorcycles went on tour nationwide, promoting the TV series and the builders. Like the original, the replica Batcycle is built around a 1966 Yamaha DT1 Catalina 250cc two-stroke motorcycle. The faithfully recreated fairing and body parts wear scallops, bat graphics and custom pinstriping. The most innovative Batcycle feature was also its most unpredictable. Robin didn’t just sit in the sidecar; Batman’s trusty chum kneeled on a cleverly concealed go-kart with a 55cc Yamaha engine, 3-speed transmission and impossibly short low-mount handlebar controls. The dynamic duo rode together until Robin deployed the go-kart to catch crafty criminals.
Batman star Adam West later recalled that things didn’t always go as planned. While Batman rode along on the relative gyroscopic stability of the Yamaha motorcycle and sidecar, Robin’s challenging-to-control go-kart rarely went in the intended direction, and he often ended up more white-knuckled than white lightning. The steel frame replica Robin go-kart is powered by an electric motor under a look-alike finned engine shell but wears the protective covering that prevented hot engine burns. Adam West and Burt Ward autographed their respective Batcycle mounts, and the replica comes with certificates of caped crusader authenticity.
images and press release courtesy of Mecum